Hopes and Dreams

You know, I am really not one for New Year's Resolutions. I just don't like the thought of putting so much pressure on myself on lofty goals that will probably put on the way side a month into the new year and thus making me feel like a failure. Just doesn't sound like a good time to me!

Not to say that I don't enjoy the motivation of having goals, because I definitely do. So instead of New Year's Resolutions, the kids and I do a Hopes and Dreams jar instead.

On New Year's Eve, we open up the jar and we pull out last years H&D. One of Garrett's H&D was to have a years supply of root beer at his disposal, Jordyn wanted to pass Math and I wanted to go to Scotland. Two out of three isn't all that bad! :)

The H&D's can be serious, silly, or just something you eventually want to do in life. If we didn't get to do it in the past year, we put it back into the jar for next. It's a wonderful way to keep our dreams alive, see how we grow, and the kids get a huge kick out of seeing what their priorities were. I started putting the year on the back of the paper so we can see how long it has been in there and that will be fun this New Year's Eve.

I think this year some of my Hopes & Dreams will be:

• Make it an entire year in kickboxing
• Get down to a size 8
• Make my bed every morning
• Go skydiving
• Schedule 6 public speaking engagements
• Spend an entire week in the woods with the kids doing absolutely NOTHING
• Have ice cream once a week in the summer with the kids
• Meet up with some old friends and laugh about the past
  

What are some of your Hopes and Dreams? Do you prefer making resolutions or do you shudder at the very thought?

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

Calendars and Agendas

For the last 6 months, I have been solely relying on my BlackBerry to keep my schedule and my life in order. Pshhtt, my life has never been this discombobulated EVER! Have I gotten on my soap box lately on how much I don't like the damn thing? Don't worry, I'll save it for another time. However, it seems that I have completely lost control over everything in my little life. I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday let alone what my schedule is looking like for tomorrow. Yes, I put it in my BlackBerry and I put a two hour reminder on it so I could have enough time to say, "Oh Shit! I forgot!" and scramble to where I need to be, but come on, that is not me!

I feel completely out of control in my life, in my schedule and it's effecting not only my work, but my emotional state as well. It's not fun!

But here is the fun part! I know WHAT is causing my discombobulation and all I have to do is change it. Woo hoo! The great part is it's now the end of the year and they have all of the new planners, agendas, calendars, software, blah blah blah, all I have to do is pick one. AHHH!!!! More choices! More decisions! More stress!

Actually, not in the least bit. I know myself better than anyone else (yes, I'm just as frightened as you).

There are a couple of steps that I took to determine what is going to be my best solution.

What kind of organizer am I? I know that I am a Visual Organizer with a flair for the Logical, so I need to have something physical to touch and see.

What are my weaknesses? Right now, my main weakness is not being able to remember ANYTHING. I couldn't tell you who called me last, let alone what I am suppose to do on Wednesday. Until I can get my head around what is going on in my life, I am going to need a little extra help remembering even the littlest of things. Which means, I am going to need some room.

What are my strengths? When I am on fire, I am ON FIRE! When I put my head into doing something, there is no stopping me. I just need a clear direction, the reason for the change, and the plan on how I am going to achieve it. (Did I ever mention I have an analysts background? I need the details.)

What do I need help with most? There are so many planners out there that do more than just keep track of your daily schedule. They range from an hour by hour overview to your day, to a blank space for you to add what you need, to organizing your projects, to do lists, budget, etc. I just need to know what it is that I NEED and what I can honestly handle as far as information. I don't want to overwhelm myself, but I do need to be realistic. I also tend to write big, so I need to make sure I have enough room to write in my planner. I am also always on the road and very rarely at my desk, so it needs to portable.

My Solution? Levengers Circa Daily Agenda. The reason behind it is simple:

1. I can purchase it by Quarter, which means if I don't like it, I don't have to waste an entire years worth of paper.


2. I can add to it with other Circa tools. Project sheets, 3x5 cards, Circa Annotation Tabs, Circa Task Pads, and the Circa flags. There is so much customization that can be done that I can have it be all MINE.


3. Each day has its own page. Which is going to be great for me, since I forget so much! I can keep my voicemails, notes on phone calls, etc. all in one place.


4. I am choosing the Junior size, 5.5"x 8.5" because it is small enough to carry around with me and large enough for me to write in.

What is your Agenda/Planner/Calendar solution?

What the Professional Organizers are using!

Janet Barclay

Marcia Francois

Jennifer at DeClutter It!

If I Had a Million Dollars

Whenever the Bare Naked Ladies song, "If I Had a Million Dollars" comes on the radio, the kids and I crank it up and sing at the top of our lungs. There is just something down right hysterical about a song that sings about Kraft dinner aka Mac and Cheese. Inevitably, the song leads to my son asking what we would all do with a million dollars. Generously, he tells me that he will build me a castle and have it stocked with a life time supply of Coke. (God, I love that kid!) As any good parent would do, you throw out the responsible ideas of a home, college funds, helping out family, yadda yadda yadda, but come on! It's the BNL version, let's have some fun!

Me, I would take that million and buy one of everything from Levenger! I LOVE that store! Every time a catalog comes in the mail I start drooling. Mike, my post guy at PostNet, laughs and even sends me a text message when it comes in. "UR Netflix and Levenger came in". Oh ya, talk about a happy dance!

So it's no wonder when I picked up the latest and greatest catalog, the song came on, and the kids asked. So as I perused through my catalog I found something beyond cool!

Note Card Action Board from Levenger is WONDERFUL! Especially for those of you who are Visual Organizers. I am definitely a Visual person and I have noticed that as I get older and busier that I fall back more onto the Visual Organization more than I do to my Logical side. I already use the 3x5 cards so having something that I can incorporate the cards into is great. I can use the Action Board to plan projects, use as a story board, keep some of the personal items and events coming up for the holidays, or for notes for the kids. Now that they are getting older, my Family Organizer Board is getting a bit obsolete. The Action Board just may be our new saving grace, plus it looks so classy!

If I had a million dollars, you better believe I would have a slew of these all over the house, in my office and be passing them out for Christmas gifts!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

Smead Organomics

If you have been following my blog or have worked with me, you know that my favorite organizing tool is the Classification Folder. These babies do EVERYTHING! I am always trying to find new ways to put them to use and then one morning I opened up my email and what is sitting there staring up at me? My own Knight in Shining Armor all decked out in Smead organizational bliss.

Ok, maybe that is taking it a bit too far, but Smead has come up with this great feature called Smead Organomics. Essentially, it is an interactive site that allows you to customize your own organizational solution.

The site comes complete with little surveys on what you need help with, quick answers from the professionals, nifty suggestions using your favorite organizational tools (like the Classification Folder), and it even has a section for you to find solutions based on your industry.

I have been playing around with the site for the last month and I am LOVING it!

One of my favorite articles is by OnlineOrganizing's Ramona Creel.

If you decide to give Smead Organomics a try, please be sure and let me know what you think!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

Giving Thanks - Courtesy of My Granny

Every week or so, my Granny sends out a family newsletter full of information on what she has been doing, updates on my aunts and uncles and other tidbits of life. Yes, we all cringe when we open it up because you never know what she is going to write! This weeks newsletter was about Thanksgiving. The desserts, the food, the family get togethers and also a short list of the 5 things she is grateful for. She asked the family if we would share ours with her and I thought, you know, this may be something nice for more than just "us".

So, Granny, here is my 5 Things I am Thankful For. (If you would like to share your 5 things, please feel free to list them in the comments) :)

1) Beyond thankful for my kids and parents for putting up with my crazy antics. (At least we will have something to laugh at during the holiday suppers!)

2) Thankful for God giving me two of the most wonderful kids ever!! Love you to the moon, Jordyn and Garrett.

3) I am so glad that I have wonderful blog readers who are patient with my lack of posts and who send me nice emails to cheer me up. You guys are THE BEST!

4) Grateful that I have amazing friends who laugh with me...and at me. I am also glad that there are social networking sites like Facebook that help bring old friends back into my life. How fun is THIS?! (Twit! he he he)

5) My latest salvation is Marcus, for kicking my butt every week and making me smile when I would rather be whining about how much it hurts...ok, I still do that! But at least I am happy while I am whining. Skinny jeans, here I come!

And one more bonus point. I am thankful that God brought Thommy safely home from his second tour in Iraq. We love you, Thompson! I know Erin will sleep better at night now!! You're our hero, my friend!

Even if it's not "your" Thanksgiving this coming up week, what are some of the things you are thankful for? Or what are some of your accomplishments from the last year that make you smile when you think about them?

Happy Holiday!

Suzanne

Organization Meets Technology

For the last month or so, Karl has been busting his butt to create a wonderful video promoting our new seminar; Organization Meets Technology. I, however, have been extremely remiss in putting together in a format for people to actually view. My bad, please forgive me, Karl!

Essentially, Organization Meets Technology is a wonderful agenda that includes hands on organizational methods with technology enhancements. Let's face it, I can physically solve any organizational nightmare, but Karl has the technological savvy to make the solution even better! So why not combine the two to create an amazing 2 hour seminar to help everyone with their business organization needs with the flair of the latest and greatest technology!

If nothing else, at least you can watch the video and PLEASE tell me what you think. Part of my little job in this whole process is sending it out to some upcoming conferences around the country and any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Until next time,

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne Babb

The Importance of Friendship

On Friday of this past week, I was interviewed by Diane from CNN in regards to friendship. Not just "oh hey, this is my buddy", but true unconditional love you have for your long term friends. So many times we get caught up in our lives, in our jobs, in our families and we have this overwhelming feeling of despair. We declutter our lives, we organize our homes, we read self help books, we spend goobles of money on therapy, we try EVERYTHING to find our own inner peace. When it's right there in front of us.

I realized something on Friday during the interview with Diane, it was something that even though I knew was there, I didn't understand the true importance of. I am truly blessed with PHENOMENAL friends. I have a great family, there is no doubt about that in the least bit. They are 100% supportive, I have a step-father whom I cherish and I even get offended when people refer to him as my "stepdad". I have a "real" dad and I love him just as much, but in reality I have two. My mom is beyond amazing, my children are incredible, but they don't have a choice they have to love me. :) It's outside of my family where my special blessings occur. Those blessings come in the form of my friends.

From Eric, my dearest and most flakiest of friends, to Renee and Sophie who can waste an entire Sunday drinking champagne with me as we clear out restaurants with our crazy stories and loud laughter, to Grey, who knows me better than I know myself and loves me regardless!

I have friends who I have known for over 30 years, my best friend I have known for 19, I have great girlfriends who are down right hysterical and I have my own special Anam Cara, or soul friend, who knows me better than I know myself. I have friends in South Africa, England, Scotland, Canada, Israel, and Germany who all serve a higher purpose in my life. Each of the people that I call a "friend" is not just someone I "know", they are positive influences in my life. They are people who make a difference not just in MY life, but in the lives of those around them. They don't suck the life from me they give it back.

When you see the clutter around you, when you feel like you need to get "organized", when you approach the overwhelming sensation of life, stop for a minute. Don't run out and buy the first book you see on the subject, look around you. When was the last time you called your best friend? When was the last time you took an hour from your day to catch up over lunch with an amazing person in your life? When was the last time you sat and poured out your heart to someone who won't judge you for being you? Sure, your laundry will still be there when you get back, but how refreshed will you feel after an afternoon of silliness? I can guarantee you that it will make getting that garage cleaned out go a heck of a lot easier.

Take a few minutes over this next week and send a special note or make a call to a friend who has made a difference in your life. It will surprise you how special it will make you both feel. As for me, I think it's time I let those people in my life know just how important they are to me and the positive impact they have had.

Your friend,

Suzy - Suzanne - Red - Tippy - Suz - Suzer